Rejected pottery in Gebel Barkal: Revisiting the localisation of ceramic workshops in the Kingdom of Meroe (Sudan)

Abstract

The article analyzes the results of a study of the modern day surface of the ceramic accumulation (“pottery dump”) in Gebel Barkal, carried out by the author as a member of the Russian-Sudanese Archaeological Mission at Gebel Barkal (IOS RAS – National Corporation for Antiquities and Museums (NCAM, Sudan)). During the survey of the territory north of the Great Temple of Amun, 239 samples of rejected pottery were found and a map of their location was compiled. The highest concentration of objects is confined to the north-western part of the “pottery dump”, while moving south and east, the number of samples noticeably decreases. All the samples belong to the small moulds for baking bread with plain rim, conical body and pointed bottom. Some of them had simple potmarks. Among the samples, all possible variants of kiln waste are presented – deformation, cracking, melting and sintering of vessels. According to the accompanying ceramic material – fragments of a Hellenized krater with geometric painting, rejected pottery can be dated to the 3rd–1st centuries B.C. The dominance of bread moulds indicates their connection with temple bakeries of the Great Temple of Amun that were nearby, but not yet discovered. The size of the “pottery dump” in Gebel Barkal, covering the area of more than 9500 square meters, indicates a significant amount of consumption of bread by temple staff and pilgrims. The presence of rejected pottery clearly indicates the connection of the “pottery dump” with ceramic workshops, presumably located in its northern part, between the Barkal Mountain and building B 2300.